NEW DELHI: Sarabjit Singh, who drove his vehicle into the Vidhan Sabha premises Monday, did so to draw attention to his missing nephew’s case, he has told cops. He hoped that a high-ranking official there would address the matter. Police sources disclosed that Sarabjit, a farmer from Singhpur village in Pilibhit, initially intended to target Parliament.Delhi Police, however, is not taking his claims at face value and has taken eight days remand to corroborate his statements. Pilibhit police said their preliminary enquiry found no offensive background or link to any extremist outfit. Sarabjit’s brother, Avtar Singh, told TOI that he left home 3-4 days ago to look for his nephew, Harmandeep Singh, 21, a BTech student at Guru Teg Bahadur Institute of Technology, who went missing on April 1.
Sarabjit showing extremely violent behaviour: Cops
He said Delhi Police traced Harmandeep’s last location to Anandpur Sahib in Punjab, but despite searches by police and family members, he could not be found, and Sarabjit, who was close to his nephew, became increasingly distressed as the search made no progress.Since his arrest, Sarabjit has exhibited extremely violent behaviour, according to cops, and reports from the police station indicate that he spent the night shouting and shaking the lockup grills. During interrogation, he made several erratic claims, including assertions that he possesses a “maharaja’s sword”.While his family claims he is mentally disturbed — even providing a medical prescription from Shahjahanpur as evidence — police are skeptical of this theory and are in the process of verifying the documents. No weapon was found on his person or inside his SUV at the time of the incident.To navigate the city, Sarabjit paid two taxi drivers Rs 2,000 to act as guides, as he was unfamiliar with Delhi roads. After leaving the Vidhan Sabha, he reportedly asked the cabbies about the route to Parliament. While the cabbies are being quizzed, investigators say no evidence of their involvement in the plot has surfaced so far.Cops are currently analysing call detail records and internet protocol detail records to gain further clarity on his recent activities and contacts.The family said Sarabjit had mentioned to his family that he planned to meet the chief minister to seek help in locating his nephew.Harmandeep’s father Harpreet Singh, Sarabjit’s brotherin-law, told TOI they last spoke to Harmandeep at 2pm on April 1, and he later spoke to his mother at 8.30pm the same day. Sarabjit Singh“He seemed normal in both calls, but later that day he went missing,” Harpreet said.Harmandeep’s flatmate returned on April 2 to find their Hari Nagar flat locked. Calls went unanswered, so he broke in and later informed the institute, which alerted the family. It later traced his last known location to Punjab. Due to Sarabjit’s depression, the family had initially withheld this information, but he eventually learned about it online.Harpreet said Sarabjit, who has been under treatment for nearly a decade, reached the gurdwara in Nangal where the family was staying, on April 5 and had a heated argument with them for not informing him earlier. “He also had a tiff with gurdwara members. We later went to trace Harmandeep, leaving Sarabjit in a room at the gurdwara. He left for Delhi on his own without informing anyone, and his phone was switched off,” he added. The family later received a call from Delhi Police about the incident. Avtar said Sarabjit had been suffering from a psychiatric disorder since 2011 and had received treatment at a hospital in Amritsar in 2012 before consulting a neurologist in Lakhimpur and undergoing psychiatric observation in Bareilly. At present, he was under treatment with a private medical practitioner in Shahjahanpur, Avtar said.Puranpur circle officer Prateek Dahiya told TOI that police examined Sarabjit’s medical papers and verified the family’s claim about his treatment in Shahjahanpur.Avtar said Sarabjit’s act on Monday could have been driven by his mental condition. “I will cooperate with police and provide all information about Sarabjit, who is innocent,” he said, adding that Delhi Police had not contacted him so far.
